Kaine Defends Decision on Va Tech

This morning, Gov. Tim Kaine defended his decision not to reconvene a special panel on the Virginia Tech massacre, as had been requested by more than 60 family members and survivors last week.

"There are some who want it re-opened and there are some who definitely don't want it re-opened,'' Kaine told reporters at a news conference. "This is a very, very painful and sensitive subject. The family members are not alike. It would be wrong to expect everyone to grieve the same way."

Kaine declined to say how many families have asked him to not recovene the special panel. He said he will accept any factual corrections families wish to make to the report until Aug. 19. At that point, TriData, the independent public safety consulting firm that helped the panel write the original report in 2007, will review proposed corrections and submit a report to the governor.

Kaine said the state is still waiting to hear whether attorneys for shooter Seung Hui Cho's family will agree to release his mental health records, which surfaced in recent weeks in the home of the former director of the university's counseling center. If the family does not agree, attorneys involved in suing the state on behalf of victims' families can subpoena them.

"We know who committed the crime. We know the circumstances of the crime,'' Kaine said. We don't yet have any suggestion that materials in this file will suggest anything different than what we already know."

As a Virginia Tech student, "disappointment" is the farthest word from my mind when I hear Kaine's decision. More like, relief! I guarantee you that the vast majority of those associated with the university would rather not see this panel stay reconvened. It's painful.